Your video is finished and you are ready to upload it, embed it to your website, and share it on social media. But which site should you use to host your video? Here's the short answer:

For most Companies, we recommend uploading your video to both Wistiaand Youtube.

Youtube is the best for sharing your video on social media, and it allows your video to show up in google search results, while Wistia is hands down the best option for embedding the video on your website.

Let’s take a detailed look at the different sites and their top features.

WISTIA: Made for Business

Wistia is our favorite hosting platform and we use it on our website extensively. It allows you to customize the look and feel of the player to fit your brand.

Wistia also has amazing analytics that allow you to measure engagement and views over time. They also include a heatmap view that show what areas of your video have been skipped or re-watched.

One of our favorite features is the “timeline actions” that lets you insert a call to action, annotations, or a turnstile to collect emails.

The only downside is that your video is not searchable in the same way that a Youtube video would be. It is unlikely your video will show up in search results.

Pros

Free version allows up to 3 videos

Highly customizable player for embeds

User friendly analytics and heatmaps for tracking viewer engagement

Call to action links during or after video

Cons

Video is unlikely to appear in google search results

Free version has a watermark “Powered By Wistia”

Youtube: The Social Network for Videos

Almost everyone is familiar with YouTube, and it has become the second largest search engine in the world. If you use a descriptive title and keyword tags, your video has a shot at appearing in Google search results for that subject.

Youtube has basic analytics which allow you to measure viewer engagement and views over time.

On the downside, youtube is not a great player for embedding in your website. It looks generic and customization is limited. But the familiarity that most people have for YouTube makes it great for sharing your video. People trust YouTube, and they are more likely to click on something they trust.

Pros

Free to create your own account and upload videos

Video will appear in google search results

Great for creating a subscriber base

Solid analytics tools for measuring viewer engagement

Cons

Limited customization on your embedded player

Search results link to your video on Youtube, not on your website

What if you want one Solution?

If you have to go with one option, pick Youtube for maximum views, or Wistia for a cleaner embed and better analytics.